On a High Note
by Hawki
Summary: Oneshot: Even after the conflict with the Tipani, skirmishes were not uncommon. Still, even in such trying times, joy could still be found, even for those haunted by the battles that had come before.


**On a High Note**

"You know, this is becoming a full time habit. How about I just leave you here so you can take time to learn from your mistakes?"

Even through a combination of two exopacks, Kendra Midori could see that Ryder was smirking as he slung his rifle over his shoulder with the practiced precision of someone who'd used it extensively in recent times, much to both their regret. True, the conflict with the Tipani was over, but that was not to say that scars didn't remain, both physical and emotional. While they hadn't gone the same way as the Anurai, the clan had still been decimated and that it was all part of the mad scheme of a psychopath (two if you counted Monroe) made both the terraformer and signals specialist sick to the core.

_Still, he's at least out in the field. That's a good sign I guess._

Or a bad one.

"So, I see the pilot survived this time," the corporal continued, gesturing towards the Samson's pilot that had gone down with his craft when the banshees attacked. "Guess déjà vu can have a soft touch."

Kendra simply nodded, her gaze lingering over the wrecked tilt-rotor and the surrounding Needle Hills. It had only been a few months when exactly the same thing happened after their little adventure in Blue Lagoon, but it felt even less. All in all, the only difference was that her…friend had come as part of a team in a second Samson rather than as a knight in shining armor in a Scorpion that-…

_Wait, a knight in _what?

"Still, I'd do it again," the trooper continued, having come to his superior's side without her even noticing, gazing onto the lands below. "So feel free to keep playing the damsel in distress."

It was a calculated insult with "Able"'s trademark sarcasm, but for some reason, Kendra found herself blushing in the knowledge that he'd still play the golden retriever who shot fellow vulpines on the way (or used to. As vicious as viperwolves were, simply keeping them at bay was preferable to putting them down). She glanced at his messy brown hair, spilling out over his exopack's straps in a manner that complimented his…his…

_Ah hell…_

Evidently ignoring attraction was no longer an option. Rationalizing however…

"You know what, I think you like this…" Kendra began, her words coming from her windpipe but originating from an area of her body other than her brain.

"Oh yeah?" the sigs-spec asked absent mindedly, his eyes fixed on a banshee in the midst of building a nest to replace the ones destroyed earlier.

"Pretty much," continued the officer, watching the same spectacle much to her relief that the flying beasts could get back on their feet (or wings, whatever). "You can act like the venerable bad boy who follows orders but-…"

"I'm not," her corporal grunted, glaring at Kendra in such a manner that made it obvious that the conversation was going somewhere he didn't want it to. "I don't like being used as a tool and I don't relish what the job entailed. I came here to start a new life, but if it wasn't for you being here I'd get in a shuttle and…"

Ryder trailed off, bringing déjà vu into the field again. Only difference was, while Kendra had simply thought these things, her friend (odd, there was no hesitation that time) had spoken them. So much for rationalization. So much that in the end, the only way to break the awkward silence was to do the least rational thing possible, draw yourself into an embrace since exopacks prevented a more affectionate maneuver and let something other than logic do the talking.

"I know you would," said Kendra softly. "And if it's any consolation, I feel the same way."

Apparently irrationality could be spread. Because while Ryder could have said something, _anything _to break the silence, ranging from being sarcastic at best to being a jackass at worst, he remained silent. Still, Kendra understood.

Some things didn't need saying.


End file.
